So I was wandering around my house the other day (one of those rare occasions when I had time to wander and actually be in my house) and I noticed dust in more than one place. I had just returned from a friend’s house where she had no dust.

I didn’t understand. Like, why do I have it when she doesn’t? Is it because she lives in another town? Is Lafayette unusually dusty? I asked her if she cleaned her place herself or had help. She said about once a month someone came in to clean, but mostly it was just her.

To me, this was just unfair. I mean, I clean up. In fact, I rarely mess up my house because I dread the cleanup. How come mine doesn’t look like hers?

When the girls were little, we played the “cleanup game.” But, as adults, they are in complete rebellion. They refuse to live without dirt, all the while proclaiming that they are not messy.

I agree with them. Messy would be an understatement. Hurricane Katrina and the solid sheath of grit she left behind would be a more accurate way of describing their rooms when they are home.

So now I’m trying to get into the whole spring cleaning thing. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed I may have ADCD-Attention Deficit Cleaning Disorder. Full disclosure here, I may have seen that on a greeting card somewhere, but it pretty much says it all about my cleaning style.

First, I’ll see a dust spot on the floor. I’ll go to clean it when I notice that the whole floor should be mopped. On the way to get the mop, I’ll see that the antique desk has dust on it. I’ll start to take care of that, but as I’m dusting, I’ll see the rug underneath it needs to be vacuumed.

What happens next? You guessed it, on the way to the vacuum closet, I notice the floor needs mopping and I’m back to where I started.

In the meantime, I can’t work without music so I put on one of those cable television music channels, the Motown one, but while I’m looking, I see dust on the TV.

Eventually, I just start folding towels because, well, that’s easy and you can actually see some progress. Plus, you can dance around to your favorite song while doing it.

Am I the only one who does this? I feel like my co-worker is going to start sending me those self-help links again.

The scariest part of all this is my girls are not even home yet, so the mess is minor compared to what lies ahead.

That’s it. I’m Googling housecleaning and looking for help. It’s probably what I should have done in the first place.